Brain power
by MysticFantasy
Summary: Tony feels that Steve isn't getting use to the modern world fast enough so he decides to create a gadget that will implant information into Steve's mind.
1. Chapter 1

**Brain power**

**By: MysticFantasy**

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Disclaimer: (_I own no part of this movie or the characters in it._)

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Chapter 1

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Tony lightly sighed as he poured himself a glass of burbon. He'd spent the entire night trying to help Steve understand some of today's technology.

He did admit that the legendary super soldier was naturally smart and he did pick up on things quickly but the genius billionare felt that it was taking too much time and energy trying to get Steve caught up on everything he had missed during his seventy year sleep.

"A little early for that don't you think?"

Tony lightly chuckled at the female Avenger who sat herself at the bar where he stood.

"Not if you went through a night like I just did." he answered and took a drink.

"Steve still not getting the hang of things?" Natasha asked.

"He's getting some but I feel like it's moving too slow." Tony answered.

"You have to give him time Tony. He's trying to learn everything that happened while he was missing. That's a lot to take in." Natasha said. "It's not like you have some kind of gadget that will just implant seventy years worth of information right into his head."

Tony was about to take another drink of his burbon but froze halfway at Natasha's words. His mind repeated her last sentence as ideas started to pop up on finding a way to make it happen.

"Tony? What's that look for?" Natasha asked identifying the look on the man's face. Usually that look meant that something was about to take place that none of them would like.

"You're a genius. I hope you know that." Tony said to the Black Widow before placing his drink down and rushing off to his lab.

Natasha lightly sighed, not liking what she had just created. She grabbed the burbon and drank the remains of the glass, hoping that this wasn't going to end badly for anyone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**By: MysticFantasy**

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"You told him what?"

Natasha kept a straight face as Clint began to laugh so hard that he was clutching his stomach and fell onto the couch to keep from falling onto the floor.

"Is that why he's been in the lab since this morning?" Steve asked calmly.

"Yes," Natasha answered as Clint's laughter calmed. "He thinks something like this might be possible and if he can make it happen then both you and Tony will be getting more sleep at night."

"I don't need very much sleep but I do worry about Tony." Steve said. "He rarely sleeps as it is and him trying to help bring me up to speed on everything doesn't help."

"But what if he figures out a way to do it?" Clint asked standing. "Would you do it?"

"I have no idea." Steve answered.

"But think about it. If it works then you'd know everything that happened while you were in the ice. You'd know exactly what everyone is talking about and you'd understand all of the lingo that Tony and Bruce use. Do you really want to stay in the dark about everything?"

"You have a strong point there." Steve replied. "It's just that the last procedure I went through was a little painful."

Natasha smirked at his reference to the super soldier process.

"But what if Tony managed it?" she asked.

"I...I guess I could try it." Steve said. "It would be nice not having to read ten books a day and understanding Tony's science language would be nice too. I hate being in the dark all the time."

"Then I guess Tony will be happy to hear that you're willing to give it a shot." Clint said.

"Tony was pretty excited about the idea so I'm sure he'll have that contraption ready pretty soon." Natasha said.

"I'll give him until tomorrow." Clint said.

"I'll give him an hour." Steve stated.

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"Hello?" Bruce called out as he walked into the lab.

"Bruce! Over here!"

"Tony?" Bruce chuckled. "What is going on?"

"Natasha is a genius now and I'm stealing her newest idea." Tony answered gazing at a metal ring before him.

"What's this idea?" Bruce asked walking over.

"Well, the short story is this. I'm going to make Steve catch up on seventy years of events and knowledge in about five to ten minutes." Tony answered.

"And how do you plan to do that?" Bruce asked.

"This is where the lovely Black Widow made the suggestion of making a gadget that will allow me to implant said information directly into Steve's brain. This is where I need your help since you know medical science more than I do."

"You need my help to implant things into Steve's head?" Bruce asked to be sure that he was hearing right.

"Yeah." Tony confirmed casually.

Bruce lightly chuckled.

"Alright." he said. "How far have you gotten on this little project?"

"I've managed to get this headband started." Tony began. "All of the electronics and wirings have been installed. When I put it on Steve it'll begin implanting everything into his mind through brainwaves. It'll take about fifteen minutes to do all that since it's a lot of stuff to put in. I've already had Jarvis download everything from math to science to history and more into the headband. Steve will become a genius like us when this is over."

"He's naturally smart but I think being in this time has thrown him for a loop which I think is why we sometimes underestimate him." Bruce said taking the headband and looking it over.

"Yeah." Tony agreed sounding a little guilt ridden. When it came to making a plan in two seconds, Steve has the greatest mind for it. But when he was put up against current technology and popular media, he didn't have a clue what was going on.

"Everything is in order." Bruce said placing the gadget down. "As for the implanting process, how much power is this thing going to need to do that?"

"Quite a bit." Tony answered. "The tower won't lose power thankfully. It's going to take about the same amount of power that my suit needs to use pulsar rays. And it's going to last a while."

"We may have to stretch that time a little longer if we want this amount of knowledge to be safely put into Steve's mind." Bruce said taking out his glasses and putting them on. "At that level of power it may not be very safe for Steve's brain."

"Alright. We'll go a little longer with less power." Tony agreed grabbing a small screwdriver.

"When is this going to take place?" Bruce asked.

"As soon as this thing is ready." Tony answered.

"Steve knows about it?"

"I'm sure our lady Avenger filled him in when I decided to run in here to build this." Tony assured. "I think he'll be just as happy to not have to spend night after night with me trying to get him to understand technology anymore. I know he's doing his best to learn all of this stuff but it's taking too long and there's times when he might not have one of us around to rely on."

"He's creative but I agree. It would be best if we could help him understand things better." Bruce said.

"Well, let's not keep anyone waiting anymore." Tony said.

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Steve was very into what he was sketching at the moment when someone joined him on the sunny balcony. He looked up and smiled at Natasha as she reclined on the patio chair.

"You nervous?" she asked shutting her eyes and enjoying the sun.

"Well, I was at first but now that I know Bruce is here helping I'm a little more at ease." he answered.

Natasha chuckled at his answer though she could understand his situation.

It must have been terrifying enough to go through the super soldier process. It had been his body and mind that had been affected by the serum but this time it was just his mind. With a gadget that Tony Stark was making in just a few hours at that.

It was no wonder why the blond soldier was here sketching. It was what he did to relax and take his mind off things.

"It's ready!"

The two looked up and saw Tony standing behind them with a very happy smile on his face.

"Anytime you're ready Cap."

Steve closed his sketch book and stood.

"Let's get this done then." he said and followed Tony with Natasha close behind.

Tony eagerly led the two down to the lab where Bruce was waiting. Upon arrival, Steve right away noticed a lab table waiting for him. It almost felt like he was going through the super soldier process again.

"You ready for this Steve?" Bruce asked.

"As I'll ever be." Steve answered.

"Good. Go ahead and lie down."

Steve moved over to the table and laid down. Bruce then elevated the table so that Steve was in a reclining position. He then placed two wireless electrodes to Steve's temples and one on his chest above his heart before Tony walked over with a metal ring in his hands.

"This is the device that is going to bring you up to speed on everything. It's going to take about twenty five minutes to do so but when it's over you'll no longer be in the dark about anything and you'll be a genius like me and Banner."

"I was just hoping for the first part." Steve said as Tony placed the ring on his head. Tony chuckled as he made sure the headband was on properly.

"Vitals are normal." Bruce announced checking a monitor.

"Alright then. Ready Cap?" Tony asked.

"Ready." Steve confirmed.

"Alright. We're going to be here with you incase something should happen to go haywire. Which it won't." Tony said and saw the slightly nervous smile Steve gave him. "Just close your eyes and relax."

Steve did as he was instructed. He closed his eyes and relaxed as best as he could. He heard buttons being pressed and the quiet humming of a machine powering up.

Suddenly, everything went dead silent and he felt as if he was walking on the line between sleep and consciousness.

"He's entered deep sleep." Bruce announced. "All vitals are still normal."

"Good. Let's get this project started." Tony replied.

"This isn't going to hurt him will it?" Natasha asked.

"The most that'll happen is he gets a headache from sudden knowledge expandment." Tony answered. "That'll happen when he wakes up."

Tony went to a control panell and was about to press a button. He looked over at his two teammates before nodding to them and pressing the button.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**By: MysticFantasy**

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If she wasn't so sure of what was going on, Natasha could swear that Steve was just sleeping. But the metal ring around his head and the fact that they were in Tony's lab was making it all too real for her.

Tony and Bruce kept monitoring the super soldier before them as the minutes seemed to slowly inch by. The metal ring had soft glowing gold lights that traveled directly to the center of the ring where a small green square was directly above Steve's forehead.

_"Completion at fifty percent."_ Jarvis announced.

"Halfway there and everything is holding steady." Bruce said checking Steve's vitals that were still at normal levels. Normal for a super soldier anyway.

"Thirty five years of knowledge already in his head." Tony added. "He's caught up to about the seventies."

"Please tell me he won't have a taste for disco when he wakes up." Natasha said.

"Hopefully not." Tony replied. "I can't see him wearing those ugly bell bottom pants."

Natasha gave a weak chuckled before turning back to Steve who remained motionless on the table.

_"Seventy five percent complete."_ Jarvis announced.

"Late eighties, early ninties." Tony half muttered as he prepared to stop the machine.

_"Eighty five percent complete."_

"Vitals are still normal. Increase in brainwave activity." Bruce announced.

_"Ninty percent complete."_

"He's caught up to the new millenium." Tony said. "Jarvis, prepare to stop machines once we've reached one hundred percent completion."

_"Right away sir."_ the AI announced. _"Currently at ninty five percent completion."_

Natasha watched as the last few moments drew closer.

Would this little project work? Would Steve still be the same? Would he really be caught up with everything that happened in the seventy years that he'd been missing?

_"One hundred percent complete. Shutting down mind transfer ring."_

The glowing ring on Steve's head slowly dimmed down then faded away all together.

_"Power off."_

Tony and Bruce right away moved to Steve. Tony slowly removed the ring and Bruce placed a gentle hand on Steve's shoulder to lightly shake him awake.

"Steve?" Bruce spoke. "Steve? Can you hear me?"

Steve lightly moaned as his eyes slowly opened. He blinked a few times for his eyes to adjust to the light as he slowly sat up with a hand to his head.

"My head is killing me." he said softly then looked up at Tony. "Did it work?"

"Answer this and we'll see." Tony replied. "What is ionic fusion?"

Steve lightly sighed then answered.

"Two or more atomic nuclei joining together thus the term ionic fusion. Matter cannot be conserved because some of the mass of fusing nuclei is converted to energy that is released..."

"It worked!" Tony and Bruce declared making the soldier jump a little.

"Steve, do you feel alright?" Natasha asked.

"My head just hurts is all." Steve answered as she helped him stand.

"You should go sleep it off. It's a side affect from the process." Tony explained. "We can test out your new smarts when you feel better."

"Come on Steve. I'll make sure you get to your room." Natasha offered.

"Thanks." Steve said as they made their way out of the lab.

"I can't believe it." Tony exclaimed with a giddy look on his face. "It worked. No more having to explain simple things, no more confused looks."

"Don't count your chickens too early Tony." Bruce said. "He only answered one question. We need him to answer more and see how well this project worked. For all we know his mind could still be expanding."

"If he becomes smarter than me then I'm making a gadget that will take away some of those smarts." Tony declared.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**By: MysticFantasy**

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Steve lightly sighed as he laid down on his bed and placed his head on the feather soft pillow. He felt a wave of relaxation wash over him but the pounding in his head still continued.

"Do you need any aspirin?" Natasha asked.

"Not right now. I think I'll just try to sleep it off. Thank you though." Steve answered.

"No problem. Try to get some sleep smart guy. I'll make sure that Tony doesn't try to bother you to test out your new genius." Natasha said before quietly leaving the room.

Steve lightly smiled as he shut his eyes and got comfortable.

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"So it really worked?" Clint asked from a stool as he watched the two geniuses work on what appeared to be another brain ring.

"Well, he was able to describe what ionic fusion is." Bruce answered. "So it seems it did."

"Cant I try it?" the archer asked.

"Really?" Tony asked excitedly.

"Tony, I really think we need to see how it worked on Steve first before we let anyone else try it." Bruce suggested.

"What's the worst that can happen?" Clint asked.

"Well, the worst that'll happen is that Steve's mind will continue to expand." Bruce explained and Clint found himself second guessing his request. "Steve's mind could absorb too much information that it might get to the point where it's too much for him. If that happens, then we'll have to use this new little toy to drain some of that information and hopefully get Steve back to the way he was before."

"We can at least hope that he'll still hold onto some of the info we put in his head. At least to where he'll know what we're talking about." Tony said easily placing wiring onto the metal ring before him. "Hopefully none of that will happen and he can be part of the genius club. Not that he can outshine me or Bruce."

"But isn't he technically smarter than you?" Clint asked curiously.

"What?" Tony asked with a slight glare at the archer.

"Well think about it." Clint explained. "He was born in ninteen twenty and lived all the way to ninteen forty three. He knows what happened throughout that time better than any of us. Now youu two put seventy years worth of information right into his head. Every subject, topic, whatever, right away put in his head. So doesn't that make him smarter than the two you?"

"You know you might be right." Bruce said thoughtfully.

"In that case," Tony muttered as he returned to working on the ring.

Clint smirked seeing the billionare work to get the ring finished. It seemed that when it came to smarts, Tony didn't like to be second place.

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Steve opened his eyes and right away noticed that the pounding in his head was gone. He smiled noticing his head wasn't hurting so badly anymore.

He sat up and stood up from his bed. Taking a simple look around his room, Steve found his mind racing much faster than it had before.

The super soldier serum had increased his memory but it seemed that gadget of Tony's had made a bigger impression.

He now found himself mentally reciting chemical formulas, recalling moments in history that had taken place after he'd been frozen, recognizing famous icons from the decades...

Steve found this a little scary at first but was starting to accept it since he no longer felt lost or confused. He now understood conversations that had taken place between Tony and Bruce.

_So this is what it feels like to not be in the dark._ Steve thought to himself as he left his room and decided to head down to the lab knowing that Tony would eventually try to find him even if Natasha tried to stop him.

Making his way downstairs, Steve walked into the lab where he quickly spotted Clint sitting a bit of a distance away from Tony and Bruce as the two men worked on another random project.

Clint quickly noticed the soldier walk into the room and smiled.

"Hey nerd." he greeted jokingly causing Tony and Bruce to look over and notice Steve.

"About time you got up!" Tony declared quickly making his way over to Steve and leading him to a near by chair. "How does your head feel?"

"Better." Steve answered taking a seat.

"Are you feeling anything odd?" Bruce asked. "Anything strange?"

"No."

"Good." Bruce mused writing the information down with his other notes of the project.

"Do you feel smarter?" Tony asked flashing a light in Steve's eyes to check their reaction.

"Very." Steve answered. "Now I know what you and Bruce would talk about."

"Well, we have a few tests that should test that theory." Tony said. "And just to let you know if you're smarter than me, I'm killing you."

Steve looked over at Clint who shrugged but had an amused look on his face.

"Let's get these tests started." Bruce said.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**By: MysticFantasy**

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Tony couldn't believe what he was looking at. One hundred questions. Half written by him and the other half by Bruce. All of them answered.

Correctly!

"Well?"

The billionare looked over to the blond soldier who was waiting to hear the results of the test. Bruce was also looking at Tony expectantly. Seeming just as eager to know if their little project worked or not.

"Every single one is right." Tony answered a little stupified.

"Wow." Bruce mused. "Congratulations Steve. You're a genius."

"Thanks." Steve said standing from the table.

"Are you feeling any kind of headaches at the moment or any other side effects?" Bruce asked.

"Nothing." Steve answered. "Headache went away and I feel perfectly fine."

"Good. Well, you're free to go but remember to let us know if you think something is off." the doctor said sternly.

"I promise." Steve vowed before taking his leave.

Bruce turned to Tony and smirked when he saw the man still looking at the test they'd given Steve.

"What? Still can't believe it?" he asked.

"Look at these answers." Tony said handing the papers to Bruce.

The doctor put his glasses on and looked over the papers. He quickly noticed what it was that Tony was talking about. The answers that Steve wrote down were far more detailed than anything the two of them could have done and the sentences had been so long that Steve actually ran out of room on several of them.

"He's smarter than us." Tony said. "I'm putting that second ring on him."

"Tony, calm down." Bruce advised putting the test down. "Just because he answered a few questions in better detail than us doesn't mean anything."

"Have you ever ran out of room to answer a simple question?" Tony asked.

Bruce was silent a moment before answering.

"No."

"Exactly. Where's the ring?" Tony exclaimed as he went to the work station where the second ring was located that would remove some of the intellect that had been implanted in Steve.

"Tony, are we sure that this is a bad thing?" Bruce asked. "With Steve's new brain power there's a lot that we can accomplish. Maybe he can help crack the serum or help you figure out a way to make Iron Man even stronger."

Tony had a look of hurt that Bruce lightly chuckled at.

"Sorry. You're perfectly capable of making your suit even greater on your own."

"D**n right I am." Tony agreed then looked at the metal ring in his hand. "Now, how am I going to get this on him?"

Bruce lightly chuckled as he shook his head.

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"So it worked?" Clint asked staring at Steve like he was a shiny new toy.

"Yeah." Steve answered wishing the archer would stop staring at him. Luckily, that wish was granted in the form of Natasha walking over and slapping Clint upside the head.

"Ow!"

"Stop staring at him like that. It doesn't look right." she said heading to the coffee pot.

Steve gave her an appreciative smile.

"I don't think Tony's going to like the competition Cap." Clint said rubbing his head.

"He mentioned that if I'm smarter than him that he'll take away some of this new brain power." Steve replied.

"He doesn't like competition when it comes to intellect." Natasha said sitting on the couch opposite of Steve. "How does it feel to be a genius Cap?"

"Different." Steve answered. "It's like...It's like someone just turned on a light switch and I'm not in the dark anymore. It's a big relief."

"Maybe we should put that thing on Thor next time he's here." Clint suggested.

"You honestly think that Thor would let that happen?" Natasha asked. "He would think it was some kind of dark magic."

"Wouldn't be the first time." Clint stated. "Remember when he first _met_ Jarvis?"

"Can't blame him." Steve said. "I did the same thing."

"Yes but you accepted it quicker than he did."

Natasha chuckled as the two men continued to debate. She wondered what Thor would be like if he did agree to the process. It would certainly clear a lot of things up for him and spare them a headache or two.

Maybe they could talk the thunder god into trying it. Provided that everything with Steve was still normal.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**By: MysticFantasy**

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A week had passed since the experiment and Steve seemed to be as normal as he was before. Only now he was smarter.

Tony and Bruce had completed the second ring that would drain away the added brain power if the need for it ever came.

Without any missions to go on, Steve was taking the chance to test out his new brain power. He found himself planning out battle strategies, exploring the wonders of technology and studying things that he never thought he would understand in any life time.

Bruce was very accepting of the new intellegence Steve possessed and they had conversations about stuff that Steve would have normally been lost and confused about.

Tony accepted the smarter Steve as well but he had made it clear that he didn't like the fact that it seemed the soldier was now smarter than him.

So far, it seemed that nothing out of the ordinary was occuring within the captain that was a cause for concern.

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Clint walked into the library and quickly spotted Steve sitting in a lounge chair reading a thick book on what appeared to be advanced chemistry.

"Nerd." he said with a smirk as he walked over.

Steve looked up and saw Clint walking over.

"Having fun being smarter than Stark?" Clint asked.

"I don't think I'm smarter than him." Steve said marking the page and closing the book.

"Stark sure thinks he is." Clint said sitting in the chair opposite the soldier. "He's even got that second ring ready incase your IQ starts to pass a million."

Steve lightly chuckled even though he was sure that Tony was probably carrying the second ring with him at all times. Just waiting for Steve to show a sign that he was smarter than the famed Iron Man suit operator.

"Have you been working with Tony and Bruce on any of their little experiments?" Clint asked.

"A few." Steve answered. "Helped them with a problem they had and Tony nearly hit me for figuring it out before him."

Clint chuckled at the story.

"Sounds like he's getting jealous of you Cap." he said.

"That's a first." Steve muttered.

"Not really." Clint said. "There's something about you that all of us envy. Don't try to argue with me about it Cap. It's all true."

"Well, there's something about each of you that _I_ envy." Steve replied.

"Just out of curiosity, what is it about me that you're jealous of?" Clint asked.

Steve smirked.

"Well, the way that you're able to easily blend into your surroundings and the people along with it. I was able to do that before in my time but it's gotten a little tricky being in this new era."

"Had years of practice with that Cap. Being in the circus helped too."

"True. But what are you jealous of me for?"

"The way that you eat like twenty times a day and still stay two hundred pounds! The rest of us have to count calories, watch portions, work out and _diet_ to keep our good figures. You suck!"

Steve chuckled at Clint's rant.

Though the archer exaggerated on how many times Steve ate each day, everyone on the team did notice that Steve did eat about six times a day and in large portions. If it hadn't been for the serum, they were all sure that Steve would be pudgy.

But then again, that might have been an improvment with how scrawny he'd been before the serum.

"Has Bruce asked for your help in trying to crack the serum?" Clint asked.

"I heard him and Tony talking about it but he hasn't asked me about it." Steve answered.

"What if he does and he asks for a sample of your blood?"

"I don't know. I don't think I would want to try it." Steve answered. "I trust Bruce but after having met the Red Skull face to face...I guess I don't want another Johann Schmidt anywhere in the world. Accident or otherwise."

"I saw a picture of that guy. How in the hell did you not wet your pants?"

Steve grinned.

"Well, when we first met, he still had a regular face and then he peeled it off right in front of me and Bucky. Guess I was just grossed out that he pulled his face off."

The soldier noticed Clint hold back a gag at the story.

"Wow." Clint sighed. "I would have passed out if I saw something like. I wonder if Nat ever saw something like that after she got her own serum. Supposedly, you two share a similar serum but no one was ever able to prove it since you saved the world and she was born after you."

"I guess that would be the only time that I would allow for anyone to try to look at the serum I got." Steve said. "But I had once been told that there might not be a way to replicate it and that it might be locked in my genetic code."

"Guess that'll just make it a challenge and you know how Tony and Bruce get when it comes to a science challenge."

"I do know and I think this might be the biggest challenge they've come across yet." Steve agreed.


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